GM CEO: Camaro a "Core Model"
In an interview with Autoweek, GM CEO Fritz Henderson finally stepped out from under Rick Wagoner’s shadow and stated his firmly held belief that the new Cruze and Spark will spark Chevy’s renaissance. Or, if you prefer, they’ll “fortify Chevrolet as a competitive, top-quality brand in the next two years.” True story?
“I think that in the case of Chevrolet, we have the chance in the next year or two to really put the stake into it, with Cruze, with the Spark and with the next-generation [vehicles] available we’re working on,” Henderson said. “I mean, we have a chance to fully flesh out the Chevrolet lineup.
Did Fritz just say he wanted to put a stake into Chevy? But that’s an unfortunate metaphor, not a genuinely odd, unsettling remark. Here’s the genuinely odd, unsettling remark.
“I think the Camaro is a wonderful halo vehicle for Chevrolet, but it can also be a core model,” Henderson said.
Unless you redefine “core,” the Camaro doesn’t have a hope in hell of generating the kind of sales Chevy needs to survive—even in it’s new, truncated form. Please tell me Henderson knows this.
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Well, if one interprets "core model" to mean "the only thing that's going to get our name in the press besides our financial predicament," it kind of makes sense. If I were Henderson, I would think a whole host of heavily publicized Camaro special editions (i.e., low-investment buff-book bait) sounded like a pretty good idea.
I read in C/D about how GM is axing the Cobalt SS, Impala SS, and HHR-SS. That and that alone is the reason my next vehicle will be a Ford. I could have cared less about GM's financial problems, their perceived lack of quality, or dealership experience, but when I found out about this self-castration-for-the-sake-of-appeasing-Uncle-Sugar I lost all respect for GM. Perhaps this is a side effect of Bob Lutz's departure. I don't know. What I do know is I'd rather buy my next car from a company of uncompromising dicks than a bunch of appeasing pussies. Don't know if anyone in GM that matters reads these posts but if there is know this: YOU COWARDS JUST LOST A CUSTOMER.
The Camaro will be a core model when GM proliferates the Zeta platform throughout its remaining divisions. Zeta, along with the Kappa and Sigma platforms is one of the best GM has out there (Epsilon notwithstanding) and it would be a shame to axe it with the G8. I say the G8 should be reborn as the next Impala, make it a different and unique offering to compete with the Maximas, Avalons and Azeras out there. Isn't there some way Kappa can be re-engineered to make it more competitive with the Miata? Or at least make it flexible enough to underpin Cadillac's sub-CTS entry? Something about an Epsilon-based sub-CTS is just backwards thinking.
Isn't this the same Cruze that was delayed until 2011, then delayed 'indefinitely' due to a severe lack of funding to finish designing it and put it into production? The same car who's engine plant (to be shared with the Volt) was cancelled back in January? How in the heck can it be considered a "core model" when its effectively dead and on life support? Likewise, how can the Spark be......anything, given the inability to even fund the repackaged Daewoo? GM is as dead as Chrysler.